Creative Juices

I Mean This, I'm Okay

Happy Birthday to my brother! He's 14 today. In true 14 year old fashion he started off our conversation over-dramatically wishing he were dead, and ended it with loving gratitude for the kick-ass presents I got him. Ah, the teenage emotional spectrum, gotta love it.

And now, I bring you some breaking news, a day late. Just like The Daily Show. As reported on Nick's blog Vroom, a truly awesome awesome band, will be reuniting for one night. While I had no other reason to attend my alma mater's homecoming (I'm still a little bitter about the jeans), I will now be gracing Lynchburg with my presence for the Vroom concert. Really, I have no words for how excited I am.
I was a bit of a late bloomer when it came to loving Vroom and only had one chance to see them in concert. Lucky me, and everyone else, I get one last chance. Just when I thought my summer concert series couldnt get any better... Michael Buble, Jimmy Eat World, Green Day and Vroom. Rock on.

Place Your Hand In Mine

I'm going to let one picture tell you how good Bogart's was.



Folks, thats a cleaned plate. My cleaned plate. Its possible, that in the history of Sabrina, this has never happened before. I'm not a plate cleaner. I always leave something behind... but Friday night. I cleaned my plate. And still wanted more. Steve and I got the rotisserie sampler platter, a special for the evening. Bogarts's specializes in rotisserie meats, and our platter included a little of each, chicken, pork and beef. With some smashed potatoes and asparagus as sides. All of it was absolutely divine. Every meat was melt in your mouth good.
However, better than the lovely dinner selection was the martinis.



Excuse the poor quality of the photos. My camera did not seem to enjoy the swanky atmosphere and lighting as much as we did.
At eight bucks a pop, I only got to enjoy two martinis. First I tried the Mixed Berry Martini. It was, by far, the best drink I have ever had in my entire life. I downed the whole thing and licked the sugared rim all before my salad arrived. With my meal I tried the Watermelon Jolly Rancher Martini. It too was super yummy. Kinda sticky, but still lick your lips good. I will definitely be returning to try some more, preferably on Thursday night when they are half price. Cause then I can have four!

I believe Steve can confirm that we had a lovely night. The only disappointment was that the live band was outside for the evening and we were seated inside (before we realized that was case). Sheesh, the one time I would have volunteered to eat outside.... We know for next time, though. And there will be a next time. And if you're interested in going, we'll definitely join you.

The happy couple:

But They Dont Know What I Know

Happy Anniversary to us! The big oh five.
And I've got two dozen red roses to prove it.



Tonight, we'll be putting on our finest and dining at Bogarts. I'm looking foward to live music, steak and martinis. Mmmmm.

Sing It Back

Lets start with the most disappointing part. I'm sad to announce, Jimmy Eat World does not read my blog. I know, I know. They dont know what they're missing. I know this because, as you can see from yesterday, I personally requested three songs. Of the three I requested... they played none. None. Zero. Sure, they played some other songs I quite love. And yes they left me wanting more (3 songs more, at least), but really. Would it have been that hard to work my requests into their set list? No. Therefor, JEW does not read my blog. Shame.
But they are a mighty fine band.





Green Day's not so bad either. They were a lot of fun. Billie Joe is a nut. He screamed "Raleigh" about 400 times. And everytime the crowd cheered and cheered. The friends around me seemed to tire of it (which makes sense considering four of them were from Lynchburg) but everytime he screamed it, inside I said "Yes! That's me! I'm Raleigh! Yay me!" I was also seriously wooed by Tre Cool. Be mine Tre Cool. I heart you. He's a very very good drummer and he drums just the way I like it. And he's cool. As his name suggests.
The crowd was pretty impressive. Considering how long Green Day has been around, it spanned a very large age group. People our age, and kids younger than my brother (most of them with their parents). The 12 year old chubby kid sitting next to The Steve made me laugh. He was super cute and into it. But I couldnt help thinking... you werent even born when Basket Case was a hit. The moment that encapsulated the generations was when the kids pulled out their cell phones and the adults pulled out their lighters. There was a big mixture of blue and yellow glows.
I had an excellent time. I was in good company and I got to hear two bands I love.

The Innocent Can Never Last

You know what today is. T minus 9 hours. And then I'll be rocking out to Jimmy Eat World, followed by Green Day, with The Steve, Nick & Kelli and Tim & Annie. Can you think of anything better? I can not.
Here's my song wish list. Please please please play these songs. My chances, I think, are high. Jimmy, dear, please play "If You Dont, Dont", "Lucky Denver Mint" and "Kill" I'll be enternally greatful. And Billie Joe, hun, just play all 9 minutes and 8 seconds of "Jesus of Suburbia/City of the Damned/I Dont Care/Dearly Beloved/Tales of Another Broken Home." Thats all I really want to hear. Thanks.
I'll try to take a picture. Something tells me these boys wont be nearly as... kind... as Michael Buble' was.
But I wont mind too much, it will certainly be unforgettable! Yay!!

You Always Know The Perfect Thing To Say

My half birthday was yesterday. 26 and a half. All of your cards, chocolates, cakes and expensive gifts must have gotten lost in the mail. I'll take that up with the post office later, dont worry.

You Make Me Smile

I love Swedish Fish.
That is all. Have a good weekend.

He Is Calling Me Dude

Lets talk about today's shopping adventures.
I went to Northgate Mall. This mall is less than 5 minutes from my work, so I go there often. They really should rename this mall - Ghetto Mall. But I bet that wouldnt do so well for marketing... how about Ghettofabulous Mall? Because, really, its pretty lame. GAP closed two years ago. Whats a mall without a GAP? Barely a mall, I tell you. And ghetto. But, if I dont get my weekly dose of malling, I might go insane, so I still visit. I was specifically going so that I could buy some yummy vanilla soap from Bath & Body Works. So, that was the first stop. In and out, right? Well, I have a tendency to linger. They always have new stuff to smell. And lately, I've been standing in front of the foot care products. See, I've been getting pedicures more frequently, and every time I sit there thinking, I can do this. And probably for a lot less than 40 bucks. But I cant decide what products I need... still... So, I'm lingering, thinking, pondering, by myself, and an annoying B&BW worker comes up. In one beat she asks me if I've tried the new blah blah blah and without waiting for me to answer she has my hand and is squirting lotion on it. I HATE when they do that. There's a thousand test bottles around the store. You'd think, if I wanted lotion on my hand, I'd squirt some myself. I wanted to answer "Yes, I have, and I'm deathly allergic!" But I'm only that crazy in my head. I let her rub the lotion into my hand, and said "hmmm, smells like suntan lotion." I HATE the smell of suntan lotion. Yuck. But I thanked her and made my way to the counter with my hand soap (which, btw, is on sale, 5 bottles for 15 bucks).
After B&BW, I took my pineapple smelling self down to Victoria's Secret. See, they have these lovely, fabulous, beautiful, amazingly soft, yet so so pretty, PURPLE pajamas. I've been by twice to see them. I havent bought them yet, because I'm usually pretty good about waiting for something to go on sale. But, I got a little worried because these wonderful pajamas werent online. Usually, if something is only in the store and not online, it wont stay around for long. So, today I decided to get a little more information. As I stood whispering sweet nothings to the perfect pajamas, a VS worker came by and commented "Arent those the softest pajamas ever?" Yes, yes they are, but I cant find them online. "No, they're a test product. Brand new. 90% Modal." Whatever that is. Sweet sweet synthetic fabric. I love you. Marry me? I still didnt buy it, though. I'm so so torn. On one hand, if its a new product, and the testing phase goes well, then it'll be around for awhile and eventually much more on sale. On the other hand, what if BECAUSE I dont buy it, it doesnt become a regular product? And then it'll disappear! and not be my own! and no! one! else! will get to experience its wonderfulness either! And then the whole world will hate me.
I left the store with that dilemma in my head and decided to use Old Navy as a distraction. It worked for the time being, but since I had to walk by VS to get to PacSun... I was drawn in again. The same woman noticed me and asked if I was back. Yeah, duh. Then I asked her if I could take a picture of them. I know, I know, Sabrina! Why did you ask? Why didnt you just discreetly whip out your camera, take the picture and run? I'm such a goodie goodie. But really, I frequent that mall often, and like they were going to forget my pretty face? Not worth it. Anyway, she said no, of course, and I tried again, saying that it was my anniversary next week... and I'm SURE my husband would buy them for me. But, if I cant show him what they look like (which I cant, cause they're not online) he'll probably buy the wrong ones. She says "Just tell him they're are the ones made with Modal. Only items in here with that stuff." Right. Thanks. But THEN, she goes "Do you have a camera phone?" As if she would have let me if I did! Damn. Cause I dont. And for that, I'm a loser.
I left the store, whispering goodbye to the majestic pajamas and continued on my journey. To PacSun to buy a much too expensive tshirt for my brother's birthday. Then, to Chickfila for chicken strips, the only thing that can take away the bitter pain of not buying the perfect for Sabrina pajamas. Well, that or cake.

Baby Wont You Save The Last Dance For Me

Apparently I'm having a really good hair day. So far, three different people at work have commented on my hair. "Did you get it cut?" "Are you growing it out?" "Have you colored your hair recently?"
I am growing it out. And while the other two answers were no, at least there was something noticable different today.
I know why. But I'm not telling.

I Love To Wash In Your Old Bathwater

There's no way around it, getting up at 4:30am sucks. But I did, for The Girls. And Rachel. All in all we had a good time, though there were a few moments when I thought I'd burst. But that was just the lack of sleep talking. We spent a good amount of time at McDonalds (thank God for playplaces) and then walked around my favorite craft store. We picked out a few classic crafts to take back and spend the afternoon with. First we made some sand art. Both of The Girls were great at pouring the sand into the little bottles. After that they colored some lovely velvet art. Then we made my old favorite craft, those suncatchers that you fill with little colored crystals and bake in the oven. Spending so much time on getting those right (its a very tedious process, did you know?) I was very thankful to my mom for not strangling me while making those when I was younger. But they turned out nicely and The Girls were pleased.
Things I learned with The Girls:
Meg: "Chicken is different from chickens."
Me, in all my grammarness, said "You mean chicken is singular and chickens is plural?" No, she couldnt have meant that, cause she didnt know what those words even mean. "Chicken is what you eat, and chickens are animals." This is true. And then I pondered why you dont say "Boy I ate a lot of chickens today..."
Cute things The Girls say:
Kyra: "That's fine, Meg. You color, while I take care of God's creatures. That's much more important." (While Kyra was working on her suncatcher, Meg was supposed to pick up any crystals that fell to the floor, so the cats wouldnt eat them. At some point, she refused).
Meg: "Even though I still have more ice cream, I'm going to listen to my body, and I think it's saying it's full."

The winner, my sport of choice, is hockey. I'll be cheering for the Hurricanes. The rest of you can kiss my ass. Grrrr. (sorry, just practicing).

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

I think I'm gonna pick up a sport. Not play a sport, that would be silly. That requires sweating and exerting and, most of the time, being outside. Watching a sport, I mean.
My reason for adding sports to my List Of Things I Care About is because I've become too girly. Thats pretty clear. With the frilly clothes and the curling of the hair and the baking and cooking and homemaking and "super duper yay!" whatever. Its sickening. Need to balance it out. With something manly. Like sports. Grrrr.
But, what sport do I pick?
Football is out. (Sorry JJ & Angela). I've been watching the Superbowl for years and years and I still dont get football. That, and it bothers me that I cant see their faces. (which, I know, is kinda girly).
Baseball is much too boring. (Again, sorry to JJ).
I think, my top three choices would be Soccer, Hockey or Women's Basketball.
Soccer should be eliminated because my only reason for picking it is because the boys are cute. And thats girly. Which is what I'm trying to avoid, remember?
Hockey, I like, for a few reasons. Its inside. And cold (bonus). The Canadians like it, and Canadians are my friends. We have a team here, so I can support our community. The only thing I dont like about hockey is the violence. I'm not a violent person. (Although... that would make me more manly...)
Women's Basketball is important to me because it would keep me connected with Beth Ann (its her last day today). Beth Ann LOVES Women's Basketball, and specifically Duke's team. I could love them too. But I dont think I could love them as much as she does...
Why not Men's Basketball? Women are better than men. And thats not girly, thats a fact.
So, what do you think? Any other sports I should consider? If Quidditch really did exist, I'd be all over that. Damn JK Rowling for creating a great sport that no one could ever play.

And You're Ever-shamelessly Tempting Me

Yesterday definitely needed cake. So, I spent my lunch hour at Mad Hatter's. I tell you, every time I go to this place, I love it more. I ordered my usual kids pizza (mostly because I'd feel guilty if I just ate cake for lunch, even though thats what I really want). I sat with Sylvester and read a chapter in my book. Now, last time I ordered my kids pizza, which comes with dessert, the guy didnt bring me a cupcake till I finished my meal. This time around, I finished my pizza, pushed my plate away, even crumpled napkins on top, and nothing. No cupcake. No cookie. No dessert of any kind. Which, if you recall, was my reason for eating at Mad Hatter's. This, of course, was not acceptable. If they forgot my plate of asparagus, maybe I would have let it slide. But I NEEDED cake. And thank God for connections. It just so happened that my friend Stan had started his shift. I went up to say hello and then politely asked if I should get a cookie or cupcake with my kids meal. "Oh yes, Mommy, you get a Build Your Own Cupcake Kit!" (He calls me Mommy, its a long story). So, he went back and put together my kit, to go, and I took it back to the office.



I was half tempted to take that little pastry bag of frosting and squirt the whole thing in my mouth, but I resisted. I waited until my 3pm snack time and built a lovely cupcake. I'm sure you can guess which sprinkles I favored.

After work, I joined the 'cool' people from our office for Beth Ann's Unofficial Going Away Party. We had drinks and appetizers at Federal. It was good. The fries were very good. You should try the fries. I learned that my safety drink is called a Cape Cod. I call it Vodka and Cranberry Juice, but apparently, if I want to make it out there, in the big bad world, I need to be calling it a Cape Cod.



For the past couple of weeks, Beth Ann has been asking, repeatedly, for me to quit my job and go with her to school. Studying something would be optional, she just wants someone to ride the bus with her and walk around campus. While I think this invitation sounds much more exciting than my current job, unless she pays me, I wont be able to go.
Clearly, she will be missed. Like crazy.

Dearest Constellation

I apologize to all 27 of you that visited my blog yesterday to find nothing. Nothing.
I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. (not because of that) I had planned a relaxing weekend, filled with not much of anything. The only thing on the agenda was finishing up our office. For more than half a year, the office has been in limbo. The walls are painted, but not finished. The desk is installed by so far from organized. The shelves are bought, but not hung. Its the only room in the house that still has unpacked boxes. And its been driving me insane. So, I was looking forward to it. But then something came up, something involving The Girls. And we know I cant say no to The Girls (or Rachel), its my curse. We'll have a good time, for sure, and all will be well.
But then, I look at next week and its jam packed too.
So, lets not think about that. Lets look ahead. To the future. To the week after next. Cause that week is going to rock.
We start off with Monday, August 22nd. Its my half birthday. I'll be 26.5, very important. Dont forget to buy me something nice. (Its also Slava and Yura's one year anniversary).
Tuesday, August 23rd also brings good tidings. Season 2 of The OC releases on DVD that day. Only 16 days before Season 3 begins. I highly recommend you purchase the DVD and get caught up. Its the best thing on television. I swear.
Wednesday, August 24th could possibly be the highlight of the week. The Steve and I will be joining some friends for the Jimmy Eat World / Green Day concert at the RBC Center. While nothing can compete with the joyess joy of seeing Michael Buble, this concert guarantees a very close second place.
I'll recover from that on Thursday.
To close off such an exciting week, Steve and I will be celebrating our 5th anniversary on the 26th. No plans as of yet. I'm still deciding if I should go ahead and plan something I'll enjoy and just tell The Steve to be there, or if I should leave it up to him to plan something. But who knows, maybe he has something up his sleeve already...
And thats my happy week. Hooray! Now it just needs to hurry up and get here.

But The Beauty Of Grace Is That It Makes Life Not Fair

My 2nd attempt to take Sylvester to the doctor was thwarted by Tax Free Weekend. Silly state of North Carolina and their insane back to school sales. And even this morning I couldnt get an appointment for today. I guess I'll just keep trying and hope Sylvester makes it through.
In other news, I recently signed up for a stat counter for my blog. And now I am seriously addicted to it. I never really cared who was reading my blog. I knew at least a couple people were and my mom wasnt and that's all that really mattered to me. But now, its an obsession. I'd like to give a specific shout out to those people I dont think I know... Hello Boston, Charlotte, Rocky Hill and Austin. Thanks for checking me out. Feel free to identify yourself. There was also a person from Poughkeepsie, NY (which I actually know of that town because my cousin went to college there) that searched for "Sabrina" on Yahoo! and clicked on me. I wasnt what they were looking for, though, cause they didnt spend much time. Come back, Poughkeepsie, come back! My regulars range from Chicago to Ireland. Who knew?!
This is my officemate, Beth Ann's, last week working. Its going to be a sad week. I'll even miss her obscenely loud gum chewing. I'll be spending more time on how much I'll miss Beth Ann later this week.

I Guess I'm Born To Be The Long Lost Friend

I was recently introduced to a new blog A Monkey's Eye View. It's written by Jordan, the younger brother of my lovely Rachel. I've been greatly enjoying his blog over the past couple of weeks and thought it time to share with you. Have a read, you wont be disappointed. His subject matter ranges from cute baby animals to women's breasts. And there's always lots of pictures. And he has swag. See, I told you you wouldnt be disappointed. All its missing is some purple.

Your Love Is Extravagant

For some reason, I had it in my mind that when I walked into the Apple Store, the Geniuses would be waiting for me. With their latex gloves and sterile surgical tools, they'd meet me at the front door with a gurnie and rush Sylvester to the bar in the back, shouting "Code Blue!" and pushing people out of their way. I mean, wouldnt they have read my blog, known of Sylvester's condition, and like all my other concerned readers, be waiting for me? Not the case. Like any Emergency Room, there was over an hour wait to see a Genius. Unfortunately, that wait would have cut into my previously scheduled "Movie with Rachel" so, I couldnt stay. Sylvester will just have to live with his condition till I can get back to the Apple Store. Whereas I cant think of a better place to wait, I couldnt last night. Maybe Saturday.
But that left me some time to shop. And since my world really does seem to revolve around Sylvester, we went into the mall and up to GAP. I picked out a pair of their new jeans to try on (turns out I'm not as curvy as I thought, at least by GAP standards (which, I am aware are incredibly off)). With the trying on of pants, I was supposed to get a free iTunes song. But all the GAP employees were busy following some manager around, so it required me standing around for awhile before someone was kind enough to ask me if I needed assistance. After my inquiry, I did get my little gift card that says "Whats Your Favorite Song?" Well, I probably already own my favorite song, but I'm sure I can find another one to buy sometime soon. And when I return to the mall later on for Sylvester, I'll be sure to try on another pair of jeans... maybe I'm an Original.

Pounding Out With Every Breath

Sylvester will be going to the doctor today. Its possible they'll recommend an operation. It might be an out patient procedure, it might require that he check in for awhile, and wont be allowed any visitors (which would mean no one to sing to).
We shall see. You may keep him in your prayers. You know, if praying for inanimate objects that Sabrina is incredibly attached to is your thing.

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby

I wanted to post yesterday, but I got into work late and spent the day playing catch up. Now that the 300 piece mailing is stuffed, stamped and labeled, I have time for important things. Like blogging.
This past weekend was my brother's last weekend here. So, Friday night we got a group together (what turned out to be a very large group) for some bowling. I rarely bowl. And I usually think its kinda lame. But I had a really good time. We shoved 8 people on a lane, so I had about 15 minutes between each round for some quality socializing.
Here are some action shots for ya.


Cindy brought her own ball. Nuff said.


Steve scores.

My first game (as usual) sucked. But my second game, well, I doubled my score.
Proof.



The rest of the weekend was spent going to the mall, seeing Wedding Crashers, eating good food and hanging out at church. Monday, I took my brother to the airport. It was sad to say goodbye, I greatly enjoyed him being here. Its not so hard to live with a 13 year old. I cant wait till next summer.